Apparatus for cutting and splicing photographic films

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cutting and splicing photographic films, wherein individual self-adhesive strips on a carrier tape are fed to a splicing station where they are separated from the tape. A film carrier transposes cut, abutting film ends into engagement with half of the separated strip. Further movement of the carrier causes the other half of the strip to be folded around the film ends to complete the splice.

United States Patent Glaus Sept. 9, 1975 [54] APPARATUS FOR CUTTING ANDSPLICING [56] Reterences Cited PHOTOGRAPHIC FILMS UNITED STATES PATENTS[75] Inventor: Heinrich Claus, Niederwangen, 3,050,l07 8/1962 Barry etal. 156/517 Switzerland 3,233,489 2/1966 Quarve 1 i 83/456 3,553,056l/197l Cole et al. 156/505 [73] Assignee: Styner & Bi nz A i ng n.3,716,444 2 1973 Hanke 156/505 Switzerland Primary ExaminerWilliam A.Powell d: 197 [22] F116 June 19 3 Assistant Exammer-Bnan J. Leitten App371,411 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Imirie, Smiley & Linn [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Jul 20 1972 Switzerland 1088 4/72 Apparatus for cutting and splicing photographic films, y whereinindividual self-adhesive strips on a carrier [52] Us. Cl 156/44} 156/159l56/227 tape are fed to a splicing station Where they are sepa 156/2523,156/5O5 156/535 rated from the tape. A film carrier transposes cut, [51]Int C12 B3lF 5/02 abutting film ends into engagement with half of the[58] Field 304 502 separated strip. Further movement of the carrier156/505 506....5.(.). ].--216 227 258 causes the other half of the stripto be folded around the film ends to complete the splice.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP 1975 sum 1 or 3 APPARATUS FORCUTTING AND SPLICING PI-IOTOGRAPHIC FILMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONwith one side on the film and then folded around the edges thereof. In atypical prior art cutting and splicing device of this kind a perforatedself-adhesive tape is supplied, placed by hand on the film'and then bymeans of two shears cut off upstream and downstream of the joint. Inthis device three blades are required, one to cut the film sections tobe joined and two'to cut the ad-- hesive strip upstream and downstreamof the joint to be made. Moreover, it is necessary for the film to bereciprocated on a slide in order in one position to cut'the film ends tobe joined together by means of one blade and in the other position toplace the adhesive strip in position and to trim it. The adhesive stripis placed in position entirely by hand, which not only makes theoperation difficult, but also makes neat splicings difficult to obtain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide apparatus for cutting and splicing films by means ofselfadhesive strips.

According to the present invention th'ere is provided a technique ofcutting and splicing photographic films and using perforatedself-adhesive strips, including the steps of supplying individualself-adhesive strips spaced apart on a carrier tape, cutting the filmends in a first position on a displaceable holder, applying a partiallydetached self-adhesive strip to the said ends in asecond position withthe perforations thereof in register with the film perforations, andfolding theedges of the strip over the ends of the film. Due to the factthat individual self-adhesive strips are supplied in a outdo-size state,trimming of such strips during the adhesion operation is unnecessary sothat a considerable simplification of procedure and apparatus ispossible. This permits the preparation of individual adhesive stripslocated in the correct position, to be substantially mechanised, so thatthe insertion and placing in position of the self-adhesive strips needno longer be carried out directly by hand. It is no longer necessary tomove a film carrier from a cutting position into an operating position,since the film of the invention is directly pivoted from a cuttingposition a splicing position. Finally, only one blade for cutting thefilm is required; no separate blades for cutting self-adhesive stripsfrom a self-adhesive tape are used. 7 I

The invention relates also to a film cutting and splicing apparatussimplified in the manner indicated above, including a displaceablecarrier withholding pins for the ends of the film to be spliced, meanswherebyv the carrier may be pivotally moved between cutting and splicingpositions, the splicingposition having a magazine provided withindividual self-adhesivestrips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of .theapparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are longitudinal sectional views through the apparatus ofFIG. 1 in different operating positions thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view through the splicingstation of the apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of part of the apparatus; and

FIG. 6 is a section of a carrier tape with individual self-adhesivestrips thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT From the figures it will be seenthat the apparatus has a base 1, made of plastic material, on which theremaining parts are mounted. In the cutting position of the apparatusshown on the left in FIGS. 1 to 3, a raised support 2 for the film endsto be joined together is formed on the surface of the base 1. In thecenter of the support 2 a slot 3 is provided into which a circularcutting blade 4 (FIG. 2) may enter. The cutting blade 4 is mounted inthe upper bifurcated end of a lever 6 on an axle 4', and the axialposition of the blade 4 in the fork of the lever 6 is determined byspacing collars 4". A handle 5 made of plastic material is removablymounted on the lever 6. If the handle 5 is removed, the axle 4' may alsobe removed and the blade 4 replaced. The lever 6 is pivotally mounted ona shaft 7 and normally retained in the rest position shown in FIGS. 2 &3, by a spring 8, In such position the handle 5 rests against an edge ofan opening of the base 1. A generally flat holding-down spring 9 issecured to the upper end of the lever 6, the spring having a slot 10through which the blade 4 passes.

On the upper surface of the base a flat film carrier 11 is mounted so asto pivot about an axle 12. The film carrier 11 is provided with a cutout13 in which the support 2 is reclined when the carrier is in theposition shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Laterally of the support 2 the filmcarrier 1 1 has guides flanges l4 carring pins 15 for engagement withperforations at the two ends of the film to be joined together.

The film carrier 1 1 may be pivoted about the axle 12 through somewhatmore than into the position shown in FIG. 3. There it strikes against aresiliently mounted support 16 which is also pivotable about the axle12. A lever 17 which is biased by a tension spring 18 is connected tothe flat support 16 and the spring urges the support 16 into its upperposition shown in FIG. 2, in which two lateral extensions 19 of thesupport 16 abut against the underside of the upper surface of thebase 1. The support 16 is provided with two holes 20 in which the innerpins 15 of the film carrier 1 1 can enter, when the film carrier 11 ispivoted towards the support 16.

In the splicing station which includes the support 16, an arm 21 ismounted to pivot about an axle 22. The arm 21 carries a pressure roller23 on its upper end. The spring 18 also engages the arm 21 and tends topivot this arm from the starting position shown in FIG. 2, which isdetermined by the roller 23 pressing against the support 16, in acounter-clockwise direction.

The splicing mechanism includes a magazine 24 made of plastic materialin which a roll of carrier tape 25 is located, with individualself-adhesive strips 26 spaced apart and adhered thereto. Each strip 26and the tape are provided with perforations 27 (FIG. 6). The carriertape 25 passes from the roll below a brake spring 28 outwards and arounda sharp detaching edge 29 thence over the surface of the magazine 24between a wall section 30 and the upper surface of the brake spring 28to the rear end over two pins 31, which serve to locate the carrier tapeaccurately. The magazine 24 is exchangeably inserted in the recess 33 ofthe base 1 by means of two lateral guide ribs 32. When the stock ofself-adhesive strips is used up, this magazine is discarded and replacedby a new one.

For cutting and splicing two film ends, the latter are placed on each ofthe guide flanges l4 and fixed on the pins when the device is in thestarting position as shown in FIG. 2 in such a manner that the film endsoverlap over the slot 3 in the required position. Then the handle 5 ismoved by hand to the right (FIGS. 1 and 2), whereby the hold-down spring9 slides onto the film ends and presses them flat against the support 2in the region of the slot 3. The blade 4 now cuts through the two filmends, so that afterwards they are in flush abutment. The cut off filmends are removed. The handle 5 is now released and due to the action ofthe spring 8, returns to the starting position shown in FIG. 2, and thefilm cutting operation is terminated.

Now a self-adhesive strip is loaded onto support 16. For this purposethe carrier tape which is still suspended on the pins 31 by a pair ofperforations, is raised and pulled out. Owing to the brake 28, the band25 is subjected to considerable tension over the sharp detaching edge 29(FIG. 4) so that the next self adhesive strip 26 is here detached fromthe tape and projects in the direction of feed of the tape towards theedge 29. Further movement of the tape 25 causes the detachedself-adhesive strip to move over the roller 23 and onto the support 16without becoming completely detached at its rear end from the carriertape. The carrier tape 25 is taken up until its next pair ofperforations is just about to be engaged by the pins 31. The spacing ofthe self-adhesive strips on the carrier tape 25 is such that on reachingthis position the next selfadhesive strip 26 is located just below theedge 29 on the carrier tape 25 and projects beyond the roller 23. V

and the support towards the left in FIG. 4 to such an extent that theperforation 27 of the self-adhesive strip 26 assumes the exact correctposition to arrive subsequently at a position below the perforations ofthe two trimmed film ends. This situation is shown in FIG. 5.

The film carrier 11 is now pivoted clockwise towards the support 16about the axle 112, so that the two film ends are brought into contactwith the adhesive side of the positioned self-adhesive strip 26 as shownin FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the outermost perforations of the twoabutting film ends are located exactly over the perforations 27 of theself-adhesive strip 26. As also shown by FIG. 5, the perforations 27 ofthe selfadhesive strip are of larger dimensions than the perforations ofthe film, so that even with a slightly inaccurate alignment of the strip26, no parts of the strip enter the perforations of the film ends; thiswould impair the film feed through a projector. When both film ends haveassumed the position shown in FIG. 4, in which they are located betweenthe support 16 and the selfadhesive strip 26 respectively and the filmcarrier 11, then the carrier is pivoted further so that support 16 ismoved downwards in a clockwise direction against the action of thespring 18, carrying the film ends retained between the parts 16 and 11and the self-adhesive strip 26. The end of the self-adhesive strip 26then pulls away from the carrier tape 25; continued downward the roller23 to roll the end of the self-adhesive strip 26 around the edges of thefilm ends and onto the surfaces of these ends, and the roller 23 entersthe cut-out 13 of the film carrier 1 1. This action can be appreciatedfrom FIGS. 2 & 3. Hence, the self-adhesive strip 26 is folded around theedges of both film ends and pressed in position, and the splice isneatly completed. Neither the film nor the self-adhesive strip has to behandled manually at any stage of the process. It is pointed out that thesupport 16 and the film carrier 11 during the mutual downward movementjust described, enter into a recess of the base 1, so that the film endparts and the ends of the carrier 11 projecting beyond the socket areable to move freely downwards. On completion of the splicing operationthe film carrier 11 is released, so that the support 16 and the carrierare swung upwards under the action of the spring 18, until the support16 has returned to its starting position. The film carrier 11 is nowpivoted back to its position shown in FIG. 2, and the spliced film endsare lifted off. The device is again in the starting position and readyfor another splicing operation.

Individual parts of the device may be differently formed. In place of acircular rotary cutter 4, a cutter with a straight cutting edge may beprovided which can be swung down onto the film ends to be cut. Themovement of the carrier tape 25 could also be mechanised such that thefeed may be effected by means of reciprocating tongs, rotary movement ofa driving wheel, or the like.

The lever 21 may be formed at the upper end into a pressing shoe whichreplaces the pressing roller 23.

What I claim is:

1. A film splicer comprising a base, a film carrier pivotally mounted onsaid base for movement between mounting and splicing stations, saidcarrier having guide means and pins for positioning film end portions inaligned and initially end overlapping relation, cutting means on saidbase at the cutting station and movable relative to said carrier forsevering the overlapping ends of films mounted on said guide means toplace the film ends in end-to-end abutting relation, support means onsaid base at the splicing station, a magazine on said base adjacent thesplicing station for supporting a supply of individual self-adhesivesplicing strips of a length greater than the width of the films, meanson said base for feeding a single strip from said magazine onto saidsupport means, said carrier cooperating with said support means topivotally transpose said abutting film ends into engagement with oneside portion of said strip at said splicing station, and means on saidbase responsive to further movement of said carrier for folding theother side portion of the strip over the edges of the films and pressingsuch portion into adherence with the other sidesof said films.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cutting means comprisesa circular cutting blade mounted on a pivoted lever adapted to be swunginto position over the carrier. i

3. Apparatus. according to claim 2, wherein said cutting blade isinterchangeably mounted on the lever.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said cutting means has aresilient holding down device associated therewith which presses down onthe two film ends during the cutting operation.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a fixed member is mounted onsaid base and wherein the carrier has a recess underlying the film endsand adapted to receive said fixed member, said member having a slotthrough which said cutting blade may project.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support means is mountedfor pivotal movement about the same axis as the carrier.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said folding means comprisesa spring loaded roller responsive to pivotal movement of said carrierand said support means so as to enter into the recess of the carrier androll over the abutting film ends.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said an interchangeablemagazine.

1. A FILM COMPRISING A BASE A FILM CARRIER PIVOTALLY MOUTED ON SAID BASEFOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN MOUTING AND SPLICING STATIONS, SAID CARRIER HAVINGGUIDE MEANS AND PINS FOR POSITIONING FILM END PORTIONS IN ALIGNED ANDINTIALLY END OVERLAPPING RELATION CUTTING MEANS ON SAID BASE AT THECUTTING STATION AND MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID CARRIER FOR SERVING THEOVERLAPPING ENDS OF FILM MOUNTED ON SAID GUIDE MEANS TO PLACE THE FILMENDS IN END-TO-END ABUTTNG RELATION, SUPPORT MEANS ON SAID BASE AT THESPLECING STATION, A MAGAZINE ON SAID BASE ADJACENT THE SPLIAING STATIONFOR SUPPORTING A SUPPLY OF INDIVIDUAL SELF-ADHENSIVE SPLICING STRIPS OFA LENGTH GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE FILMS MEANS ON SAID BASE FORFEEDING A SINGLE STRIP FROM SAID MAGAZINE ONTO SAID SUPPORT MEANS SAIDCARRIER COOPERATING WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS TO PIVOTALLY TRANSPOSE SAIDABUTTING FILM ENDS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE SDE PORTION OF SAID STRIP ATSAID SPLICING STATION, AND MEANS ON SAID BASE RESPONSIVE TO FURTHERMOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIER FOR FOLDING THE OTHER SIDE PORTION OF THE STRIPOVER THE EDGE OF THE FILMS AND PREESSING SUCH PORTION INTO ADHERENCEWITH THE OTHER SIDES OF SAID FILMS.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said cutting means comprises a circular cutting blade mounted ona pivoted lever adapted to be swung into position over the carrier. 3.Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said cutting blade isinterchangeably mounted on the lever.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 2,wherein said cutting means has a resilient holding down deviceassociated therewith which presses down on the two film ends during thecutting operation.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a fixedmember is mounted on said base and wherein the carrier has a recessunderlying the film ends and adapted to receive said fixed member, saidmember having a slot through which said cutting blade may project. 6.Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support means is mountedfor pivotal movement about the same axis as the carrier.
 7. Apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein said folding means comprises a springloaded roller responsive to pivotal movement of said carrier and saidsupport means so as to enter into the recess of the carrier and rollover the abutting film ends.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid strips are disposed on a continuous tape, and further including asharp edged guide over which the tape is passed to detach theself-adhesive strips from the carrier tape.
 9. Apparatus according toclaim 8, including locating pins cooperating with said guide and saidcarrier tape for engaging perforations in the carrier tape so as toindicate when a single strip has been detached and positioned over saidsupport means.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the guide,the carrier tape, and the locating pins comprise an interchangeablemagazine.